On The Edge - stage 2

 First colour pass on the sky, looks like it will be about three days work before it's finished as it covers such a large area of the painting. I stopped here because I need to have a think about the clouds nearer the horizon which I will do tomorrow over my breakfast coffee. There is a lighting idea I have for the foreground which I don't know if it will work with the sky... we will see.

Colours used so far: Phthalocyanine Blue. Phthalocyanine Green, Permanent Orange, Warm Light Yellow, Unbleached Titanium and Warm White.

Art Renewal Center

 In the end three out of my five paintings that were Semi Finalists in the Art Renewal Center's 17th International Salon competition made it as Finalists and will be published in the forthcoming book.

"Binary Sunset" made it into Imaginative Realism

"The Night Owl" and "Home Sweet Home" made in into the Landscape category.

Binary Sunset

T

The Night Owl

Home Sweet Home

Living On The Edge - stage 1

 Provisional title, it might be called "On The Edge"...

This is really the first painting to properly come out of my recent tour of the US National Parks in the South West for my solo show next year at the Abend Gallery. I loved the vast scale of the landscapes I saw particularly on the road between the various parks and loved the vast skies that hung over these landscapes. I don't know how/why the contrast between the blue sky and the white clouds was so intense there but I took loads of reference shots of them as we drove around. This painting is all about that contrast and scale which I hope to get across although this location does not actually exist and is an amalgam of three different locations plus imagination and invention. I'm fascinated by how people live in relatively hostile environments somehow clinging on despite a lack of water, power and shelter from the relentless sun. You see individual houses or communities way out of town in the parched hills and land living in self-made buildings with seemingly no viable income source at least not from the land but every one of them have a car or truck parked nearby without which I am sure they could never survive. Truly living on the edge...

This is the first pass on the tonal underpainting using my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin and applied with a brush and rag. I will give it a second pass tomorrow.

Oil on canvas 31 1/2" x 12".

Out In The Cold

 The first painting after my return from IX last month.

After producing a number of fantasy oriented paintings for IX I am returning to painting work for my solo show in March at the Abend Gallery, Denver CO. I am considering changing the title of the series to "Home Land" as all the paintings are ruminations on the theme of home within vast American landscapes. This one is set in deepest Winter in maybe Wyoming (all these paintings are imagined landscapes and are not real locations) with a lonely farmhouse set in a vast snow landscape. The area of sunlight on the distant mountain was unplanned and was only going to have the sunlight picking out a few ridges but when the initial colour pass on the mountains had left that area with just the underpainting showing it occurred to me that it could be the whole area in bright sunlight. I will be developing this lighting effect in future paintings...

Based on a yellow/violet colour complementary (although very desaturated). Oil on canvas 31 1/2" x 12".

There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Out In The Cold - stage 3

 Pretty much finished the sky and after a desaturated blue wash over most of the landscape I painted in the first colour pass on the background mountains but stopped when I got to the light area at left as I need to have a think about it before proceeding - over tomorrow's breakfast coffee as usual.

Out In The Cold - stage 2

 First colour pass on the sky, I stopped here as a I need a think about how I'm going to paint the mountain which I will do over tomorrow's breakfast coffee.

Colours used so far: Indanthrene Blue, Permanent Orange, Naples Yellow Reddish Extra, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Warm White.

Out In The Cold - stage 1

 Finally back to painting after returning from IX...

I am now getting back to producing work for my solo show next March at the Abend Gallery in Denver CO after a recent swathe of more Fantasy paintings needed for IX, nine out of twelve being sold at the event including seven on the first night.

I have returned to my "Point Of Light" series which I am considering changing to "Home Land" as all the paintings pretty much are ruminations on the theme of "home".... this one is set in deepest Winter in maybe Wyoming (all these paintings are imagined landscapes and are not real locations) with a lonely farmhouse set in a vast snow landscape with the usual light on somewhere in the building.

This is the initial tonal underpainting stage using my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin and applied with a rag and brush.

Oil on canvas 31 1/2" x 12".

IX 2024

Before

 I exhibited my work at IX at the Goggleworks in Reading PA last week after staying with friends in Maryland. They were going there as collectors to see if there was anything they liked to buy (there wasn't) and drove me up to the show. As we arrived a collector was sitting at the entrance who asked me if an older painting called "Faeral" was still available which it was so I made my first sale before even going in the building! A good start!

As I was setting up (aided by my friends Morgan and Jean) a couple of collectors that had bought off me previously approached me and asked if they could buy my latest painting "Tatooine Sunsets" which I had just put up on the screen... I said yes of course - another sold before the event had started, this was going well! The event itself started at 6.00pm and within the hour I had sold "The Vampire of San Polo" to a collector from New York and within I think half an hour another collector came along and bought four more! Oh I forgot to mention that "The Portal" sold to another collector couple in between so at the end of the evening I had sold seven paintings in the show plus "Faeral" at the entrance... the best I had ever done at IX....

The next day I sold "Red Lantern Street" and then nothing on the next day until finally on Saturday I sold "The Fire Temple of Ahura Mazda" to the collectors who had bought "The Portal" previously and who couldn't bear to leave the show without it.

During the run of the show on Wednesday I also sold "Yama Jinja" on Beyond The Everyday so all in all I sold eleven paintings during the time I was there including nine from the show itself - a record I would imagine I will never beat. 

Morgan suggested that I leave the remaining larger painting "Castle Of Lost Souls" at their house where they could ship for me from in case a buyer in the USA emerges. I then resolved to bring the last two smaller paintings back with me on the plane as hand luggage (I had brought two with me this way when I arrived) so this meant... no shipping back to the UK of unsold paintings, a first!

Hmmm I think I will go to IX next year....

After

 

 

 In the "After" pic you can see four paintings packed up in bubblewrap waiting for the buyers to take them away on Sunday the final day of IX.

Yama Jinja sold

 Whilst I was at IX in Reading PA last week (more on that in another post) I sold "Yama Jinja" through Beyond The Everyday, the first I have sold on this platform ran by Every Day Original. This was a painting intended for last year's IX but I was unable to attend. Oil on linen 22" x 16".

Tatooine Sunsets

 The last painting to be finished to take to IX later this month. This is the third Star Wars-themed painting I have done with the first two snapped up by collector friends in the USA so I thought that it would be nice to do another one as nobody really saw the first two! The move across from my Orientalist inspired work to Star Wars is not as much of a stretch as you might think. The Tatooine architecture has elements of the local architecture where it was filmed, Tunisia (?) and the buildings here on a desert mesa are  very similar to my mosques etc in desert locations in earlier paintings. There is meant to be a bit of Ralph McQuarrie in there too.... just spotted a little repaint to do before I take it to IX but this scan will do for the moment.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12"

There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Paintings For IX

 These are the paintings that I am bringing to IX this year in Reading PA. Eight are framed the rest will be hung unframed as I have not had a chance to get them framed for various reasons. It's my usual mix of Fantasy and Orientalism seasoned with a bit of Science Fiction and Horror.... I like variety. I will be shipping them in two batches and hope that they don't get lost/stuck in Customs which happened once before and did not make for a relaxing pre-event time with friends in the US while I frantically rang FedEx to find out where the hell they were. As it turned they got delivered on the day I was there to hang them in time for the Private View that evening.....please not again!

IX (Illuxcon) will be held at the Goggleworks in Reading PA from 23 to 27 October. If you're in the area come along it's quite a show!

Tatooine Sunsets - stage 3

 Mostly finished the sky but left it like this to make a start on the rocks below the buildings. Something tells me I need to get the colours and contrast right here first before I paint the rest of the picture.

Tatooine Sunsets - stage 2

 First colour pass on the sky and background as well as a second layer of the tonal underpainting on the landscape.

Colours used: Manganese Blue Hue, Kings Blue Light, Dioxazine Purple, Wisteria, Burnt Sienna, Brilliant Pink, Permanent Orange, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Warm White.

Tatooine Sunsets - stage 1

 This is probably the last painting that I will finish in time to take to IX later this month. It is in fact the third Star Wars themed painting I have done recently but the first two were snapped up very quickly by collector friends in the USA so I thought that it would be nice to do one for IX as nobody has actually seen the first two (although one of them will hopefully be published in the upcoming Art Renewal Center International Salon book if it gets accepted as a Finalist). The move across from my Orientalist inspired work to Star Wars is not as much of a stretch as you might think - Tatooine is a desert-like planet and they used Tunisia (?) to film the Tatooine scenes with some of the architectural styles melded with the futuristic. Indeed the buildings in this one on a desert mesa are very similar to my mosques etc in desert locations in earlier paintings. Hopefully there is a bit of Ralph McQuarrie in there too....

This is the tonal underpainting stage using my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin and applied with a rag and brushes.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

The Somnambulist sold

 "The Somnambulist" has just sold through Abend Gallery Denver CO. A painting from my "The Sleeping City" series. I wanted a sort of dream/nightmare feel to this one, actually for all in this series come to think of it. Compositionally everything hangs off the central axis of the moon and figure but in an asymmetric way as a counterpoint.

Oil on linen 16" x 12".

International Artist Magazine

 "Steeltown" has been published in the new October/November issue of International Artist magazine as a Finalist in the Cityscapes Challenge. It remains unsold and is currently available at Abend Gallery in Denver CO. Oil on linen 22" x 16".

The Fire Temple Of Ahura Mazda

 This painting follows on from the previous one in that I decided to develop the warmly lit areas and expand it to be the main focus of the picture for this one. Once I was on that track it quickly occurred to me that fire could be a good subject and from that I thought about fire temples which actually do exist in one of the oldest religions on earth, Zoroastianism (Parsi in India). This is however a fire temple on number 11 and very much a Fantasy image so apologies at this point to any Zoroastrians who may see this! Ahura Mazda incidentally is a kind of godhead in this religion and a name I have loved and wanted to use in a title for many years!

This painting proved to be very tricky firstly because I wanted the brightest points of the picture to be the canvas white itself so I had to plan in advance where they were going to be which slowed me down in drawing it up... and secondly it was far more difficult than I first realised to translate the lighting of the previous street market scene into this scenario and it took longer than it really should have to paint the fires around the temple. I guess that lighting is ideal for market scenes at night!

This might be the last painting that I can finish in time to take to IX in Reading PA later this month... maybe time for another small one...

Oil on linen 22" x 16".

There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

The Fire Temple Of Ahura Mazda - stage 8

 This has been a real slog sorting out the lower level of the temple. I had originally conceived it like the market scene in the previous painting and assumed that I could replicate the effect in this one... wrong. At least you could say that I have learnt from this if nothing else. I have had to take it very slowly as I try to work out how it is going look ( i.e. not like the market scene) and finally think I have come up with something of a compromise which I will finish off hopefully tomorrow. Hopefully it comes out good enough to take to IX next month....

The Fire Temple Of Ahura Mazda - stage 7

 You can't tell much in the pic but I have been working on the temple and probably ready to start on the ground level tomorrow. I haven't put any figures in yet to give it a sense of scale, these will go in tomorrow. Lots to resolve in this area...

Dream Street sold

 "Dream Street" has just sold to a buyer in the USA through Artfinder. Oil on canvas 12" x 31".

The Fire Temple Of Ahura Mazda - stage 6

 Gradually working my way around the temple adjusting as I go along. Hopefully I can sort out the platform at the foot of the large door tomorrow....

New colour used: Cadmium Red Medium.

The Fire Temple Of Ahura Mazda - stage 5

 Working my way down the temple now, the next tricky bit will be the transition of the detail on the temple from the dark at the top to the fiery areas at the bottom . The pic makes it all look a bit harsher than it is....

The Fire Temple Of Ahura Mazda - stage 4

 

Finished the background and sky and have started on the temple - long way to go yet!

New colour used: Yellow Lake Deep

The Fire Temple Of Ahura Mazda - stage 2 & 3

Stage 2

 Got caught up in doing my tax books yesterday and forgot to post the progress...

Stage 2 shows the finished tonal underpainting and stage 3 shows the first colour pass on the sky and background. The painting will be based on a green/blue - red/orange colour complementary and have realised that I have to make sure there is some colour variation particularly in the fiery areas.

Colours used so far: Dioxazine Purple, Phthalocyanine Blue, Phthalocyanine Green, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Orange, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Warm White.

Stage 3

 

The Fire Temple Of Ahura Mazda - stage 1

 Another painting for IX next month this one follows on from the last painting in that I am developing the warmly lit areas of the street market and expanding it into areas of fires, smoke and people in front of a fire temple at night. The temple is very loosely based on the Zoroastrian temples of Iran and India (called Parsi) where fire is associated with the kind of godhead called Ahura Mazda, a name I have loved for many years and finally get to use in a painting title.

It has actually been tricky to draw up because I am leaving the brightest areas of the painting where the flames are as the white canvas and then painting around them. This entails working out where all the fires are going to be and therefore not so much room for improvisation as everything has to be composed first (there will be a chance for improvisation when it comes to painting all the figures and smaller fires). This is halfway through the initial tonal underpainting after the basic drawing up is finished and hope to finish that stage tomorrow.

Oil on linen 22" x 16"

Art Renewal Center

 Pleased to see that five of my paintings have been accepted for the Semi Final stage of the 17th International Salon competeition. Now I'm hoping that they all make it to the Final! The paintings are "Binary Sunset", "Home Sweet Home", The Night Owl", "Homeward Bound" and "The Safe House".

Red Lantern Street

 Kind of a first for me, a Chinese-themed painting which is a combination of memories of Chinatown in London at Chinese New Year and imagination. I love the colour red but find it hard to use as it is tonally quite dark so I set the lanterns in the darkest parts of the painting but then that introduced a new problem of incorporating them with the lighting in the street. I proceeded quite slowly and gradually it came together. This painting will be shown at IX next month in Reading PA.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Red Lantern Street - stage 4

I was in London yesterday so today was my first chance to get on with the painting. The red lanterns aren't finished yet as I get on with the market stalls first. I need to get the light relationship right between the lanterns and the street so I'm taking it cautiously and stopping here for today to have my usual look at it over the morning coffee. I love red but it is so hard to use as it is relatively dark in tone and needs darkness around it to glow but it gets tricky as they approach the lights at the end of the street.

New colours used: Pyrrole Red, Quinacridone Red, Yellow Lake Deep and Cadmium Yellow Light.

Red Lantern Street - stage 3

 First colour pass on the background today using desaturated blue/green mixes and kind of making it up as I go along. I stopped here so that I can look at it in the morning with fresh eyes and see how it is going and what to do next. I need dark tones around the red lanterns so that they glow...

Red Lantern Street - stage 2

 

Busy day today and only managed to get two washes of desaturated blue/green over the cold areas.

Colours used: Phthalocyanine Blue, Phthalocyanine Green and Permanent Orange.

Red Lantern Street - stage 1

 Kind of a first for me, a Chinese-themed painting. A combination of imagination and a memory of the lanterns in London's Chinatown at Chinese New Year. Seeing as they are red (and therefore dark)  they will be set against the darker areas of the painting to give them a chance to glow. As I want a soft dreamy look I have painted in the vast majority of the underpainting with a rag. Tomorrow I will give most of the painting a wash of desaturated blue apart from the warm areas of lights and hopefully make a start on the background too.

This is the tonal underpainting stage using my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin and applied with a rag.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

The Portal

 The second painting resulting from my recent tour around the National Parks in the South West of the USA is again another fantasy oriented painting. I saw the central tree in a sequoia grove in Yosemite the shape of which immediately suggested something a bit Lord Of The Rings initially but when I got back to the UK I decided it would be more interesting as a portal. I added the figure as I felt it needed a sense of scale. 

This painting will be exhibited at IX in mid October in Reading PA.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

The Portal - stage 3

 Finished the background and painted in the portal after deciding to go for warm yellows and oranges. I think I will need a figure walking towards the portal to give it a a sense of scale...

The Portal -stage 2

 A poor pic of the background nearly finished, it's bluer than this but the camera didn't pick it up. Stopped here because I need to make a decision on the colours inside the portal as they will affect the reflections in the foreground so on to tomorrow morning's breakfast coffee....

Colours used so far: Phthalocyanine Blue, Indanthrene Blue, Dioxazine Purple, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Orange, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Warm White.

The Portal - stage 1

 This is another painting coming out of my recent trip around the National Parks in Southwest USA and is based on a tree I saw in Yosemite in a sequoia grove. Looking at it now I am just wondering if I need to put in a silhouetted figure in the light to give it the right sense of scale... needn't decide yet but probably...

This is the tonal underpainting stage which has had a wash of a desaturated mix of Phthalocyanine Blue and Permanent Orange over the basic underpainting using my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin and applied with a rag and brush.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

Rock Of Souls

 This is the first painting after my tour of US National Parks in the South West and is the realisation of the original idea that I had while on the road; the incredible shapes and contours of the rocks I saw there suggested a living landscape of beings animal and human and kind of reflects the spiritual connection to the landscape that the indigenous people have out there. Although this trip was intended to provide material for paintings for my solo show next year at the Abend Gallery the first painting to come out of it is much nearer to a Fantasy painting and as such it will be shown at IX in Reading PA in October. The idea is predicated on people not seeing the eyes etc at first but I'm too close to it so I have no idea if this will be the case.

Oil on canvas 31" x 12"

There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Rock Of Souls - stage 5

 Still working on the rocks and still struggling with the colour and tone. The rocks need to be kind of dark for the mood I want but still need to introduce some variety of colour in them as well... maybe I should get the foreground in next and that will give me a better idea.

Rock Of Souls - stage 4

 

Second colour pass on the sky and then trying out colours etc on the landscape. Stopped here as it needs to be looked at in the morning over my breakfast coffee. My main concerns are how dark to make the rocks and how to introduce some variety of colour into them, notwithstanding that there will be some green bushes which will help a bit.

New colours used: Yellow Lake Deep, Cadmium Golden Yellow and Bright Pink.

Rock of Souls - stages 2 & 3

Stage 2

 Didn't get a chance to post anything yesterday. First of all I finished off the tonal underpainting and then left it as I needed to make a decision on whether to keep it monochrome or to paint it in colour. Over breakfast coffee this morning I decided to go for colour.... stage 3 is the first colour pass on the sky.

Colours used: Manganese Blue Hue, Permanent Orange, Lead Tin yellow Lemon and Warm White.

Oil on canvas 31" x 12".

Stage 3